50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther Kings "I have a Dream" speech

28 Aug 2013

Today the 28th August 2013, we celebrate 50 years since Martin Luther King's iconic march on Washington during which he gave his "I have a dream" speech; one of the most important speeches of the twentieth century. It was extremely important to me as a young girl growing into adulthood and awareness. For me the speech summed up the American civil rights movement at its most inspirational.

It was a forceful and moving speech, but it was also positive.

There was no note of merely complaining about racism. Although, in era when black people were beaten and killed just for registering to vote, there was every reason to complain. And Martin Luther King made the point early in the speech that the Negro was still not free.

Nor did Martin Luther King attack white people. He knew that individual white people were not the enemy and in the speech he was careful to warn against "bitterness and hatred".

Furthermore the speech wasn't just a list of demands. Although, at the height of segregation, there many demands that could fairly be made. And he insisted that the Negro would "never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi that cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing to vote for".

But Martin Luther King, whilst setting out the brutality and injustice of the era, soared above it all in a visionary and hopeful speech that looked to the future.   

The nineteen sixties were an era when black men were either clowns, servants or entertainers. But Martin Luther King, making his great speech, presented the unforgettable image of a powerful, dignified man at the height of his powers. White and black listeners were riveted by the speech. Even listening to recordings of the speech fifty years later, it has the power to thrill.  And Martin Luther Kings dignified image in making the speech made him a role model for a generation of activists, not just in America, but here in Britain too.

Race is still an issue in America today. There was recently a fierce debate about the acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing a black teenager Trayvon Martin.

But it is easy to forget how many advances in justice and equality have happened since that speech. When Martin Luther King made his speech: millions of black Americans could not vote; churches were bombed and people were killed to stop people demanding the vote; very many public facilities were segregated; restaurants and hotels could legally refuse to serve black people; black singing stars often found themselves performing in venues where they could not rent a room or be served a drink; white politicians would physically block black children who tried to register at white schools; black people had to sit in the back of the bus and Martin Luther King himself went on to be assassinated.  

Very few people can say that they made a speech which changed history. But Martin Luther King's speech was part of a pattern of events which did just that. And his phrase "the fierce urgency of now" crystallised a feeling that, after decades of campaigning, change was indeed urgent.
The speech taught me and millions of others that: it is important to stand up for what you believe in; the status quo is not inevitable and one person can make a difference.

Decades later in 2008 America elected its first black president Barak Obama. When the American networks declared him the winner on election night, I burst into tears. I was crying because Obama's election symbolised what the "I have a dream" speech was about. You don't have to think that Obama is a perfect president, to understand the historic significance of his election. I think myself privileged to have seen the strides society has made to Martin Luther Kings dream of a world where in the words of the speech "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers"




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